Thursday, 14 August 2014

In a recent development, Former US President Bill Clinton along with Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande and other noted dignitaries visited the Akshaya Patra kitchen in Jaipur. During the visit they also visited one of the beneficiary schools and interacted with the beneficiaries of the mid-day meal programme. Click here to know more about the Commitment to Clinton Global Initiative made by Government of India, Deshpande, and Ravindra Chamaria. Akshaya Patra provides mid-day meals to 1.4 million children across more than 10,600 Government schools in 10 states.

In conversation with the correspondent of Boston Globe regarding the Akshaya Patra visit, Deshpande brought to fore the importance and need of the mid-day meal programme. He said the power of education is such that even one educated member in the family can break the cycle of poverty and lift the entire family out of the vicious cycle. He also emphasised the role of technology in mass production of mid-day meals across the country exemplifying the Akshaya Patra’s centralised and mechanised kitchen facility. To implement the mid-day meal programme, Akshaya Patra operates its kitchens in 23 locations across ten states of India. Of the 23 locations, 21 locations operate centralised and mechanised kitchens. 11 of the Akshaya Patra kitchens are ISO certified and the remaining are in the process of certification. All the kitchens follow Food Safety Management System. The centralised kitchens are equipped to cook up to 100,000 mid-day meals in span of few hours. The roti (Indian bread) making machines primarily seen in north Indian kitchens can roll out up to 200,000 rotis in one hour.

The technology and process employed in Akshaya Patra kitchens have been a subject matter of study in curriculums of noted universities like Harvard Business School too. A visit to BostonGlobe.com will bring across you more information on the coverage.